Solve the following expression and give your answer as a fraction. $ 0.5 \times -\dfrac{1}{2} = {?} $
Solution: First get all of the numbers as simplified fractions. $ 0.5 = \dfrac{5}{10} = \dfrac{1}{2} $ Now we have: $ \dfrac{1}{2} \times -\dfrac{1}{2} = {?} $ $ \phantom{ \dfrac{1}{2} \times -\dfrac{1}{2} } = \dfrac{1 \times -1 } {2 \times 2 } $ $ \phantom{ \dfrac{1}{2} \times -\dfrac{1}{2} } = -\dfrac{1}{4} $